This invention relates to combination locks for luggage cases and the like.
Conventional combination locks for luggage cases and the like are generally provided with a plurality of (normally three) dial wheels arranged co-axially, each dial wheel having ten numbers of 0 to 9 around the periphery thereof, such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,416,388. To use such a lock, the lock is first pre-set with a given combination of numbers and the lock is locked when the dial wheels are rotated to any position other than the pre-set combination of numbers. The lock is then unlocked when the dial wheels are rotated to the position where the pre-set combination of numbers is aligned. However, in this arrangement the peripheral part which enables the manipulation of the dial wheel protrudes outwardly without any protection against contact with other articles and there is therefore a chance that the dial wheels will be rotated by accident and the lock locked when one does not want the lock to be locked. Furthermore, the co-axially arranged dial wheels make the construction of conventional combination locks complicated.
Therefore, the main object of this invention is to provide a combination lock for luggage cases and the like, having dial wheels arranged side by side and flatly so that there is less chance of causing the dial wheels to rotate by accidental contact with other articles.
Another object of this invention is to provide a combination lock for luggage cases and the like having a less complicated construction.